Match Review

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

As Rajasthan lost their top three batsmen early, a huge chunk of responsibility was on the skipper and Stokes to pull off the chase. The duo did form a stable fourth-wicket partnership of 51 runs but it was broken as Smith was shown off by Keemo Paul in the 12th over. Post that point, there wasn’t any significant recovery for the Royals.

Highs and Lows 

For Delhi, it was their openers who did the task of forming the perfect foundation of their innings with a 59-run partnership off just 37 balls. On the other hand, Rajasthan’s opening partnership was broken in the first over itself as Jos Buttler was dismissed for a duck while chasing a gigantic target of 187. That was, according to me, a significant low in the game which could’ve been a big contest otherwise. 

Rating Charts

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw completely lived up to the name of our subcategory of Powerplay exploitation as they smashed all three Rajasthan pacers in the first six overs. The right-handed youngster was in top form, even topping Dhawan, and scored 45 off 23 at the end of the 6th over. The two squeezed out 18 runs off Jaydev Unadkat in the second over and at least seven runs off the rest to take Delhi to a score of 59/0 at the end of the Powerplay. 

On the other hand, Rajsthan’s Powerplay was the stark opposite of Delhi’s smooth run in the first six overs. There were three good overs for the batsmen but the regular wickets out the scoring under control and put the game to Delhi’s advantage. Ishant Sharma removed danger-man Jos Buttler in the first over itself despite conceding 11 runs off it. He recovered his economy rate in the next couple of overs of his spell. Rajasthan’s Powerplay was ruled by Sharma who bagged three wickets removing the top three batsmen as the scorecard read 39/3 at the end of six overs.

Rajasthan were yet to get a breakthrough at the end of the Powerplay and they didn’t have to wait long as they dismissed the in-form player Shaw right at the opening of the middle overs. Even as Shreyas Gopal found the breakthrough for Rajasthan, it didn’t break the momentum that the opening partnership had built. In fact, the next three overs went like a breeze for Delhi until Ben Stokes came in and the 10th over was a low-scoring 5-run affair. The next couple of overs saw the dismissals of Dhawan and Rahane and also marred the high-soaring run rate. Tom Curran’s 16-run 15th over was a relief to Delhi who managed to score 135/3 at the end of 15 overs. 

After three big blows for Rajasthan in the Powerplay, it was time for them to recover in the middle overs and after a string of shortlived partnerships, the Royals did enjoy a stable partnership between Steve Smith and Ben Stokes. Meanwhile, the Delhi spinners were smashed all over the park but Sandeep Lamichhane made his recovery in the 12th over when he removed Smith and went on to bowl a really good spell for Delhi. At the end of 15 overs, Rajasthan Royals had recovered from the blows in the Powerplay but were still struggling on 104/4 with 83 runs still required off the last five overs.

Delhi’s batting in the Powerplay and the death overs were almost identical as they made the most of those overs either without losing a wicket or just the one that they did in the 18th over. Every bowler, barring Ben Stokes, had to face the wrath of Rishabh Pant, who with the help of Iyer and Stoinis, added 52 runs in the final five overs taking the total to 186/4. 

The Royals were already struggling in the chase with a gigantic 83 runs required off the last 30 deliveries. Needless to say, it was quite an easy task for the Delhi bowlers. Lamichhane’s recovery in the game was remarkable and as the cherry on the top, he dismissed Riyan Parag in the 16th over to mark the perfect start to the death overs. Ishant Sharma came back and bagged a couple from the tail, leaving Rajasthan 48 runs behind the target. 

As spectators of the game, we got to witness a brilliant partnership between the young Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan, followed by the fearlessness of Pant. In the second half, we got to witness Ben Stokes in a top-notch form again and the highlight was Ishant Sharma’s exceptional bowling. However, there was lack of intent in Rajasthan’s batting making it an above-average game of T20 at best.